1987 Dodge Ram D150 Slant Six Buildup - Slant Six Power Package

Power PuzzleTo most Mopar aficionados, performance starts with a V8. You know-one horsepower per cubic inch, a lopey idle, and a mechanical staccato of 16 valves heard through a pair of full-length headers. If these are primary factors in your engine buildups, our venerable 225ci Slant Six may not be your cup of joe. At first, it wasn't ours either.

In fact, one of our toughest decisions was whether we should keep the Slant Six that came in our Project D150, or replace it with a Mopar Performance crate engine. Part of our decision involved the abundance of Slant Sixes in existence. Yes, these Leaning Towers of Power are as common as the vehicles they came in. As a result of typical hot rod ingenuity, many Slant Sixes have been replaced by Mopar V8s. Somewhere-perhaps in your garage-sits a Slant Six just begging for attention.

By no means were we going to build a multipurpose, fire-breathing, Hemi-eating six-banger. No, we simply wanted to up the performance for great street cruising and an occasional bark of the tires. This led us to our final concern-show appeal.

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The engine, destined for our Project D150, needed "wow appeal." We could easily double the horsepower, but could we build a clean, sharp-looking engine?

By using a variety of parts from several suppliers, such as Mopar Performance, Crane Cams, JE Pistons, Holley, MSD, and others, you will see how our DeskTop Dyno-projected, 237hp Slant Six was built. Once the combination is installed completely, we'll stop by our favorite chassis dyno, and give it a chance to perform.

Follow along with us as master mechanic Dave LaForce takes us through the steps to build a potent Slant Six that has major appeal for show duty.